Skating with Patrick Jane
by BonesnCastleFREAK
Summary: Somewhat inspired by a trip to the ice rink... In an attempt to strengthen the partnership/friendship/relationship bond, Jane tries to teach Lisbon ice-skating. Rated for extreme minor coarse language


**Hello! Well, I know some people have been asking me to write some Mentalist fics, but I have been so behind that I wasn't sure what to write! Anyway, I went ice-skating the other day with some friends and this little fic popped in my head. I hope you like it :)**

**Basically, it's a somewhat future (friendship) fic where Jane tries to teach Lisbon ice-skating. They're still trying to get their relationship/friendship/partnership bond stronger than before. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, nor Jane, nor Lisbon… If I did, they'd be together :( I dunno, always a Jisbon fan through and through :P**

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"Jane! Where are we going?" Lisbon stumbled around and muttered incoherently about him being a 'pompous ass', as he currently has two hands covered across her eyes. "I can practically feel you smirking."

Jane smirked, "You know me too well Lisbon, but just a few more steps and… there we go." He dropped his hands from her face and Lisbon blinked a few times to adjust to the lights.

"An ice rink? Really Jane? Of all places?" Lisbon dead-panned.

"I know you've never ice skated before, and as a 'sorry-I-kinda-went-missing-but-really-you-sorta-knew-where-I-was-coz-of-the-letters-but-not-really' present, I thought I'd teach you to skate. You know you've always wanted to…" Jane replied, the smirk still full blown on his face.

Lisbon's right eyebrow flew into her hairline as she stared at her partner. Knowing it'll be a lost fight if she argued, she threw her hands in the air with a sigh of exasperation. "Fine, where are the skates?"

Jane simply turned and nodded in the direction of the skate hire. It was late into the night and there was hardly a soul in sight besides security and the teenage girl blowing bubbles behind the skate hiring counter.

"Isn't it after closing? How'd you get this place to remain open?" Lisbon queried.

Jane shrugged. "I know people," he answered cryptically.

"Of course you do."

* * *

Lisbon gritted her teeth as she slowly stepped onto the ice, wary of falling over.

"C'mon Lisbon!" Jane cheerily called over, as he zoomed past her on the ice.

"Showoff!" She called back, still gripping the sides of the ice rink as if her life depended on it.

Jane came to a stop beside her and held out a hand. "I'll show you, it's really simple." Lisbon stares at the hand as if he's gone mad. "Oh please, Lisbon!"

She sighs, knowing she can't say no to that boyish grin on his face. "Fine, but you better hold on tight! It's also not my fault if I fall over, and if I do, you're coming down with me."

"I won't let you fall Lisbon, promise."

She carefully takes his warm hand, and as he begins to promptly lead her away from the side, she feels her anxiety rising. "No, god, Jane, take me back to the side!"

"It's easier if we work not too close to the side, otherwise, you'll rely on the sides too much, and will never learn. Going to the side is okay if we take a breather, but not forever. See, look, we aren't that far from the sides."

"Alright, alright, just teach me to skate."

"Okay, it's kinda hard to explain, but the first main important thing is you want to push off and glide. See how I do it?" Jane shows her and comes back to take her hand once more. "If you skate as if you're walking without gliding, it'll place a number on your legs and you feel extremely tired after." He coaches.

Lisbon tries her best and after a few more advice from Jane, is skating alongside her partner, not as well as he, but it's alright to get around. "Jane! I'm doing it! I'm skating! Look, I haven't even fallen!"

As soon as Lisbon uttered those words, she slips slightly, causing her to tumble to the ground, smashing her butt on the ice. Her grip tightened around Jane's arm causing him to fall with her.

"Oof! Ouch!"

"Oh my god!" was head across the rink.

Jane stood up and brushed ice off his pants, "It's okay Lisbon, falling is part of ice skating. If you haven't fallen, then that's just weird." He helped her up, steadying her on her feet. "Are you okay now to practice a bit while I go have a few rounds on the ice?"

Lisbon waved him off, not wanting to seem like a wuss and he skates off. Lisbon watched him carefully as he glides across the ice with precision. She wondered when in the world he would have time to learn to skate, as he appears to have taken some lessons along the way. She skates a little more and seems to be getting the hang of it when Jane returns back, cheeks rosy from the cold.

"How are you?"

"Uh huh," Lisbon replied, too distracted to pay attention to him. After a few minutes of silence and concentration, she looks up to find him still there. "Can we take a breather?"

Jane shrugs and leads her towards the sides.

"Jane? If you don't mind me asking, where'd you learn to skate?" Lisbon asked.

Jane looks down at the petite lady and a genuine smile appears on his face. "It's all Angela. She loved to ice skate, and I'm sure could practically go pro if she chose to. Charlotte really wanted to learn, so one day, we took her down to our local skating rink. Angela got on the ice and taught Charlotte to skate. She was a natural, just like her mother. Then Charlotte comes up to me and begs me skate with her, and I couldn't say no to her, I never could. So I got on the ice, and fell down more times I could count. Let's just say, it left an impressive bruise on my butt. But Charlotte was laughing and clapping and _happy_ so I was content skating with her. Angie taught me the basics and soon I was on my own. Lottie fell in love with skating. We had to go back every single day for the next two weeks. I stopped after Red John… But y'know, skating is like riding a bike, once you know how, you'll always remember it."

Lisbon stared at him, and for the first time in a long time, memories of his wife and child weren't tainted by Red John anymore. He was genuinely smiling and a happy glint appeared in his eyes.

"That's wonderful, Jane. Thank you for teaching me to ice skate," Lisbon replied softly, a shy smile materialising on her face.

"It's no problem," he answered back in the same tone. Then Jane's mischievous grin reappeared. "Come on then, whatcha waiting for? Let's ice skate!"

Jane grabbed her hand and speed-skated off, Lisbon trailing behind, gripping tightly to his hand. "Stop! Stop! STOP! Jane!" She exclaimed and laughed at the same time. "Oh my god!"

"Never!" He yelled back, having way too much fun.

They skated long into the night.

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**DONE! So yeah… Errr, I hope you that was okay :) Leave me a review just to see how this fic went especially coz I haven't written a Mentalist one in such a long time. **

**Thanks for reading :)**

**R&R,**

**Genie**


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